by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings were victorious in their first road game of the season as they beat the Los Angeles Clippers 98-92 at Staples Arena. The Kings relied on strong performances by DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Darren Collison on offense and tenacious team defense to walk away with the victory on the road in LA.

DeMarcus Cousins was the star of the game for the Kings. Cousins scored 34 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, distributed five assists and blocked three shots in leading his team to the win. It was Cousins’ second double-double of the season. He was dominate in the paint versus two very strong defenders -the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin.

Rudy Gay had another strong performance to follow up his 40 point game against the Trail Blazers on Friday night. Gay poured in 25 points to go with seven rebounds, six assists, one steal and one blocked shot. He shot 50-percent from the field and made 10 of 11 from the free throw line.

The game was Darren Collison’s first opportunity to face his former team and he showed the Clippers what they lost when they let him walk away in the off-season. Collison scored 14 points, pulled down five rebounds, posted five assists and had one blocked shot in his return to LA.

The Kings shot 50-percent (34 for 68) from the field. They hit on 27 of 33 chances from the free throw line. Sacramento outscored the Clippers 44-34 in the paint.

On defense the Kings held the Clippers 13,5 points under their season average (105.5). LA shot just 37.5-percent (33 for 88) from the field. The Clippers attempted 31 3-point shots but were successful just nine times (29-percent). The Kings outrebounded the Clippers 46 to 35 (+11).

Blake Griffin and former King Spencer Hawes led the Clippers in scoring with 17 points each. Chris Paul added 16 points to go along with 11 assists. J.J. Redick scored 12 points but shot a horrible two for 12 from beyond the 3-point arc. The Clippers’ bench did outscore the Kings’ bench 36 to 18.

The Kings did have a problem with turnovers again in the contest. Sacramento turned the ball over 19 times in the game. The target has to be 10 or less turnovers per game.

The other area of concern for the Kings has to be the lack of scoring production from the two-guard position. That position added just 12 points divided between three players. Head coach Michael Malone did create a different look by using Omri Casspi at shooting guard along with McLemore and Stauskas.

The Kings outscored the Clippers in three of the four quarters. Sacramento scored 28 points to just 18 for Los Angeles in the final period.

The Kings will be back in action on Monday night in Denver versus the Nuggets.